Automatic firing apparatus for ships&#39;s guns.



No. 719,857. PATENTBD PEB. s, 190s.

' H. VON PBGHY L v. REA.

AUTOMATIC FIRING APPARATUS FOR SHIPS. GUNS. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 11. 1902.

N0 MODEL.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ysa 5 ,23 l

No. 719,857. y PATPNTBU PEB. s, 190s.

H. VON PGHY L V. RPA.

AUTOMATIC .PIRING APPARATUS P0P SHIPS GUNS.

. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 719,857. PATENTED PEBQS, 190s.

' H. VON PBGHY L V. REA.'

AUTOMATIC IRING APPARATUS FOR SHIPS GUNS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

- 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 719,357. PATUNTUD TBB. s, 190s.

H. VUU PUHY A; V. REA. AUTUMATTU TUBING APPARATUS FOU. SHIPS GUNS.V

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH VON PCI-IY AND VICTOR REA, OF POLA, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY;

SAID VON ICHY ASSIGNOR TO ANDOR VON gCIIY, F VIENNA, AUS- TRIA-HUN GARY.

AUTOMATIC FIRING APPARATUS FOR SHIPSGUNS.

SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,857, dated February 3, 1.19103.

Application filed August 11, 1902. Serial No. 119,353. (Nomodel.) Y

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that we, HEINRICH VON PCHY and VICTORREA, subjectsof the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at Pola, inthe Province of Istria, in the Empire of Austria- Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic FiringApparatus for Ships Guns; and we do hereby de- Clare the following to be a full, clear, and ex- Io act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon, I5 which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an automatic firing apparatus for ships guns whereby the shot is ired and leaves the muzzle of the gun,

/ whether the ship is rolling or not, at the mo- 2o ment when the axis of the barrel is at the elevation to suit the estimated range. It is essential that the ignition of t-he charge should be timed to occur with reference tothe time that the shot remains in the barrel. Thus the ignition must be premature, and the degree of prematureness depends on the length of the barrel and the character of the explosive. It is constant for each caliber; but the degree and speed of rolling of the ship introduce variable factors. The axis of the barrel must therefore be moved quickly through an angle which increases or decreases with the rolling of the ship, and this movement must be elected while the ship is rolling un- 315 til the correct elevation is attained, with a speed varying for each case. It follows'that he circuit of the electric igniting-current `lnust be closed sooner or later in order that the prematureness of ignition may remain the samewhile the speed of rolling varies. By the present invention the proper timing of the ignition is effected by means of a balance arranged beside the gun, the pointer of which constitutes an oscillating Contact, while one` half of the beam carries a railway, groove, or like track kept in the position of rest by a spring, on or in which track a ball rolls from.

its position of equilibrium and depresses the track when the rolling of the ship is in the 5o one direction. On the return motion of the ship the ball is checked in 'making its journoy back in consequence of its inertiajand the inclination of its guide, whereupon the center of gravity of the balance is displaced to one side, so that the oscillating pointer closes the circuit for the eleetriignition and the gun is fired. By means of the oscillating track the time at which the ball rolls with regard to the increasing and decreasing magnitude and speed of the rolling of the ship is 6o automatically regulated in such a manner 5 that the moment of the premature ignition is varied to'suit the said movement of the ship. The balance-pointer iscapable of being held by an electromechanicallyeliberated detent. The contact which is closed by the pointer and the device which liberates the detent may be controlled by one key, so that the shot is fired only at the will of the person handling the. key. n 7o The firing apparatus is provided with ar rangements for putting its parts in the necessary horizontal position and for adjusting it to the gun and the range, as well as for allowing its use for any charge and caliber.

The invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a vertical section; Fig'. 2, a plan, an'd Fig. 3 a vertical section on line A B of Fig. 1. Figs. 4 to 7 are elevations o f the'gun 8o in dierent positions with the firing device attached. Fig. 8 is a plan of the gun'and firing device, showing diagrammatically the Iir-v ing-circuit. Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views.

Referring to Figs. l to 3, the ring device consists, essentially, of a balance whereof the beam turns on the knife-edges 1, attached to the pointer 3 and carried on planes 2, insulated from the rest of the apparatus. The

pointer '3 constitutes an oscillating Contact, 9o which closes the electric vigniting-cireuit 5,

Fig. 8, when 'it touches the insulated Contact 4, Fig. 10, urged' by a spring, as shown in Fig. l. The beam carried by the extension 6 of the pointer 3 consists of an arm 8 on the 95 one side, carrying an adjustable counterpoise 7, and of a casing 9 on the other side. In this casing a curved track 11 turns on pivots 10 and vserves as a way for the ball l2. This track 11 is .kept in the position of rest (shown rco in Fig. l)v by a spring 14, attached toA a rearwardly-projecting arm 13, the tension of the spring being adjustable by means of the nut 15.- 'lhe knife planes 2 'of the balance are {pointer-of. the balance when'this .is not' ar-. 'rested Ab'utcan swing freely :does j not rest, as'

carried-'by 'an' am; 1t, hinged' at 1.8 te the .base-plate. 17 vandoapable of being raised or .depressed "at its free end bytheadjustingf@ 4vscrew 19. Vhen th'ebaseplate is q-uit'ehorishown in Fig. 1,-"against'-the insulated stop 21, but. against-'the spring-'contact.4, as i-ndi'- cated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.; In the horizontalf position of'the' ri ng device and-the "vertical 'positionot the balance-pointer the.

l"ball is perpendicularly'belowthe pointf'of suspens-ion of the'balja'ncebeam', and in order that this position of the ball-t maybe accufjrately secured the bearings 'of 'the track 1l' are carried vl'ie` tvr'eeii set-screws 22, Fig'. 3,' and4 maybe adjusted v`Wit'.h'aid of a third setscrewYV 23,11`ig. 1. The basefplate 1 '7'of the-apparatus is carried by truunio'ns '26 onball-bear ings 25 intheframe 24 'and is kept by the' weightZTin the position in .which the knife planes of the balance are 4always horizontal'.

i ln 4order that there mayno-closing of the c 'ir7 cuit byfthe'balancelpointer 3 when the firing apparatus -is not in nse, the 'pointer Ais normallypress'ed against theinsulatedlstop 2.1,

1 28. -This-bar-is' connected ey-rods, one en 3o each-side of the contact 4,; with the guide'- 4 Fig, .1, by a bai or lock 29,' u'rged by spring -bar-30, Fig. '2, Whichcarries an armature '3.1,

I in a Slot 36 on the toothed are' 35 of the elevating mechanism.v l

contrelled 'by the magnet'32. When the mag- 'n'et V'is energized, the .armature 'is'attracted and the bar 2 9 is drawn back, lso-that the pointer becomes .free and'can at the given moi ment close'the'circuit of ythe igniting-cn'rrent.-

" They vtiring apparatus; lwhich may 'bein'-v close'd in api'ot'ect-iveycasimg, is xed to a 'rail 33, centered at one end on the tru union 34 ofv lthe gun, Fig-4, while .theothe-r end caribe fixed by a lset-serey relativel`y to 'a ran ge-sca'le In 4 .to SY- the'i'lringapparatus is shown on the right-hand sidejofI the-gun 'but if the elevating mechanism ison.- tlie' left the'firi'ug apparatus may also be on that side. 8 shows that the ignitingeeircnit 5 and the magnetfcircuit 37 are each Aprovided with a con'- soy . rst energized to withdrawthe b ar 29, and

tact 38 and 39, respectively', which are-,closed by a key- 40, common to both, the arrangement being suchth'at the1electrom'agnetis immediately thereafter theigniting-'cimuit is The'operatio-n lows .The nun being completelyat..1est, the

apparatus isset horizoutalby aid of: the'level 2O-at4 the zeroiof" the scale o u thev arc .f/ thev elevating mechanism, Fig. 4. ,'In this-position 'the apparatus andthe axis of: the' barrel are "parallel with the surface ofthe-sea.' .For shooting the .railiis fixed at't-hepoint Ourthev scale corresponding with the desired-range,

Fig. 5, in "which position the angle' between the barrelaxis and the axisof the rail33-cor responds ivit'lr'tlie'elevati'ontojbegivenjto the iof the apparatus iusas- 'foll.

gun;v lThe gun-barrel is novi/'raised by aid ofthe usualy elevating mechanism (not showninthe' drawings) until the' firing 4apparatus is nearly horizontal, Figln, in whichpsition -thebarrel'will have 'passedfthlfe'ugli' the re apparatus startsro'lling along its 'trackand del ter of gravityfbf the-balanceto theleft. As

tus isputre'ady'fm action bydepressingthe key' 40, so Vas-'to closefthe contacts 38 39. f The tainingibar 291s withdrawn-from the pointer n ey; Owing to the reversalvof the movement of the ball and to the factfth'at the track; is

. raised only gradually, according totheldegree adelayin the said returnnjou rney, so that even contact 4,' Fig. '10.7A "Solong as tlieapparatus' does not'approximate't0 the 'horizontal posi-v tends to'- keep't'he pointer in'thevertical posto-p 21'untilbythe altered "position kof' the apparatus the lbalance hasv acqui'red'the nec- 'essary Asensitiveness for shifting' the -eent'er of gravity. W'hen this happens, the charge thevmuzzl'e Whenthe latteris, in fact,`at the correct elevation, i" The' autom-atie ringf.- apparatus here defor .thledie'rent degrees-and'speed of theroll- Vring oi? .the ship,for` whenthe- 'rolling'motion of the-ship increases theba'l-l rolls farther out on its' track, which is 'thus more depressed.

' the barrel Will move quickly through the an# gie within which the'ignitio'nshould .occur.' 4 vThe b all, however, in consequence. of l.its 'inertia and of 'the considerableinclinationlof siderable c lelay-'fsoy that' the center of gravity 'of Ithe -balzmce is quickly, displaced and lthe closure of'theeircuitis precipitated- 'I f the d egree of rollingl is great, but the speed small,

theinovable parts of the Iirin-gapparatus willA nal position, 'because the detai'ning-ba'r. 29.

the rolliugmotio'n ehanges'theri-'ng appara- 3.' 'Simultaneously-With thereturn swing oi` the gun-barrel the ball begins its return jour 'I tion theweight of theba'l'l cannotfin'uce 4 the balancenotwithstanding the withdrawal. of the d'etent,"a s-the".balancebeam always' `sition, whereby the latteris held against the.'

is ignited somewhat early', as thej-,barrel''returns to. the elevationprevious'ly fixed 'for th'ejiring-.ofthe shot, so that the'sliot leaves its tra'ckfwill return overonlya sinall'partv of its track-ethati's to-say, it'will'su1eracon-f ever, by reason of the inclined pos'ition 'of'the presses i't,' Fig. 9, thusputting.the` spring 1 4: 'under increased 'tensio'nand shi ti n'g theA een-1 electromagne't 32 being nowenergized, the d'e-'f .o'f' the backward movement ofthe ball, thereis before the apparatus has attained -the hori' Zptal position,- tle center'of gravity of the. .bal'ancehaving been displaced, the pointer 3 g swings togthe left.' and closes" the cireuitfat.`

scribed permits apremature ignition suitable f If the speedof 'the rolling of theship is great,

respondingly postponed. It the rolling of the ship is small in degree and rapid, the ball returns only .a short way and the delay is corresponding, so that here also the premature tiring is at the right time. If the rolling is small in degree and slow, the delay in the return of the ball is very small and the ignition again occurs at the right moment. apparatus set for a certain range acts when the ship is rolling or in a perfectly smooth sea and is not heeling without any further adjustment of elevation. Itthere is no rolling, but the ship is heeling, thebarrel is raised or lowered by the elevating* mechanism until the shot is fired. In a perfectly calm sea and when the tiring apparatus is set for a certain range the delivery of the shot maybe brought about Without regard to/the momentary position of the barrel by raising or lowering the latter. v

To adjust the prematureness of the ignition to suit the magnitude of the charge and the caliber, thetension of the spring 14 is adj usted so as to vary the tendency of the'track 11 to oscillate. For this purpose the spring 14 is regulated by a screw 15, having a nut divided to show dilereut degrees of prematureness. Thus the -iiring apparatus becomes applicable to any size of shot.

We claim- 1. The combination with a gun, of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, an insulated stop adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum, an electric contact adjacent to I[he upper end of said pendulum opposite to said stop, a trackattached to the lower end of said pendulum on the side opposite to said insu lated stop, a body movable on said track, and an electric circuit extending through said electric contact and through said pendulum, which circuit is closed when said pendulum swings into contact with said electric contact.

2. The combination with a gun, of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, yan insulated stop adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum, an electric contact adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum opposite to said stop, a track attached to the lower end of said pendulum on the snide opposite to said insulated stop, a body `movable on .said track,

' means for adjusting the angle of said track with respect to said pendulum, and an electric circuit extending through said electric contact and said pendulum, which circuit is closed when said pendulum swings into contact with said electric contact.

3. The combination with a gun, of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, an insulated stop adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum, an electric contact adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum opposite to said stop, an electrically-operated lock for holding-said pendulum in engagement with said insulated stop, a track attached to thelower end oi said The tiring' pendulum on the side opposite to said insulated stop, a body movable on said track, and an electric circuit extending through `said electric contact and through said pendulum, which circuit is closed when said pendulum swings into contact with said electric conta/ct.

4. The combination with a gun, of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, an insulated stop adjacent tothe upper end of said pendiilum, an electric contact adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum opposite to said stop, a lock for holding said pendulum in engagement with said insulated stop, an armature on said lock, a magnet located adjacent to said armature, a normally open circuit extending through said magnet, means for closing said circuit, a track attached to the lower end of said pendulum on the side opposite to said insulated stop, a body movable kon said track, an electric circuit extending through said electric contact and said pendulum,

which circuit is closed when said pendulum? swings into contact with said electric contact.

5. The combination with a gun; of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, an insulated stop adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum, an electric contact adjacent to the upper end of said pendulumopposite to said stop, a curved track attached to the lower end of said pendulum ou the side' opposite to said insulated stop, a body movable n said track, a normally open circuit extending through the gun-breech, the electric contact and the pendulum, a lock for holding the upperend of said pendulum in engagement with said insulated stop, an armature attached to said lock,` a magnet located adjacent to said armature, a circuit extending through said magnet, and a key for simultaneously closing the circuit through said magnet and for partially closing the circuit through said gun-breech, said electric contact and said pendulum, which lastmentioned circuit is completely closed when said pendulum swings into contact with said electric contact. p

G. The combination with a gun, of a pendulum pivoted between its ends, means for adjusting the angle of the gun with respect to said pendulum,an insulated stop adjacent to the upper end of said pendulum, au electric contact adjacent to the upper end of said pendnlum opposite to said stop, a track attached to the lower end of said pendulum on the side opposite to said insulated stop, a body movable on said track, and an electric circuit extending through said electric contact and said pendulum, which circuit is closed when said IOO 

